Psychosis
by SaltyJak
Summary: The day of love was upon Dimmsdale again, and as usual, Timmy Turner's sights were set on the most popular girl in his school, Trixie Tang, while Tootie's crush on him continued to go unrequited, and indeed, it seemed the dynamic between the three would stay this way... But the funny thing about love, is that sometimes, it makes you a little... Crazy.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, I'm sick, so cranking this out in time for Valentine's Day nearly killed me(what else is new), but somehow I managed. Not sure how happy I am with it, since my head's congested and foggy, but hopefully it's okay. This one should be at least a few chapters, but I wanted the first up for the holiday, enjoy! ^-^

* * *

The raven-haired girl sat at her and her friends' lunch table in the cafeteria of Dimmsdale High School, her head propped up in her left hand, and gaze fixated on a certain brunet for whom she'd harbored feelings for the better part of the last seven years: Timmy Turner.

At the moment, he was not seated with Tootie and their other two friends, but was instead standing by the table frequented by the 'popular' clique, which was composed of Tad, Chad, Veronica, and of course, Trixie; the person Timmy was no doubt _actually_ there to see. Considering her crush had spent the last better half of a decade trying to get the popular girl to go out with him, Tootie didn't even need to hear the conversation going on to know how things would play out, it had by now become quite routine: Tad and Chad would glare at him ineffectually, Veronica would blush and do her best to avoid making eye contact, and Trixie would smile, offer a friendly giggle; whether Timmy told a joke or not, and she'd chat with him for a bit before shooting him down or claiming she already had plans, all the while smiling at him in a way that made the bespectacled girl want to gag.

"Our boy's back at it again." Chester, the more laid back of her and Timmy's two mutual friends, snickered as he watched the buck-toothed teen flirt(he presumed) with Trixie, the two exchanging the occasional awkward smile as they spoke back and forth.

"Someone _really_ ought to explain the definition of insanity to him, see if he gets it." AJ, the fourth member of their group, snickered right along with the blond, both finding Timmy's endless pursuit of Trixie to have become something of a running gag, at this point.

Tootie; however, was less amused by the scene, and simply watched it unfold with a seemingly neutral, indifferent expression, only perking up once she saw her crush wave 'bye' at Trixie and make his way back over to their table. "So how'd that go?" She asked, smirking a little as the brunet sat back down in the seat next to hers.

"She's ah… Busy, today." The fifteen year old admitted, taking a quick sip from his drink. "But hey, there's always tomorrow, right?"

"Exactly! Stay positive, dude!" Chester remarked encouragingly, figuring _someone_ in their little group had to, considering AJ's feelings on the matter, and Tootie's vocal, less-than-flattering opinion of Trixie. "Just remember to get her something nice, girls love getting things when the romantic atmosphere is at its peak!"

"The… Atmosphere's gonna be particularly romantic, tomorrow? It's just Friday, isn't it?" Timmy quirked an eyebrow up at Chester and began to pull out his phone.

"Dude. Seriously? Are you dense or something? Today's the thirteenth!" The blond shot back, acting as though this fact was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay…?" The brunet responded with a bemused frown, tapping his phone's screen to access its calendar.

"Of February? As in tomorrow's 'February fourteenth'? The 'Day of Love'? Girl sitting next to you's last name ring a bell?" Chester nodded at Tootie, prompting Timmy to look at her as well.

"He means it's Valentine's Day." The girl whispered to her crush while hiding her mouth with her hand, pretending Chester was their teacher, and she was giving Timmy the answer to a question that would make or break his grade for the class.

Upon hearing this, the brunet glanced at the table's other two occupants, who were both now shooting him _very_ expectant looks. "...I knew that." He insisted with a shrug before looking back down at his phone, the calendar indicating the fourteenth with a big, red heart. "Ahem..." The teen cleared his throat, turning his phone off before nonchalantly slipping it back into his pocket. "So yeah, I should, er… Probably get something for Trixie tomorrow, what with it being Valentine's Day and everything…" He trailed off, hoping a certain 'god of love' hadn't been paying attention for the last five minutes or so. "Speaking of, what are you guys up to tomorrow?"

"Homework." AJ spoke up first. "AP classes've got me swamped, so I'll probably be doing that after school, and likely Saturday and Sunday too."

"The rate you're going, you're gonna end up married to your _hand_ , Brainiac." The blond fifteen year old joked, though his comment went largely ignored by his bald friend, who'd already begun to vigorously type away at his phone. "Well not me! I'm taking full advantage of all the love that'll be in the air tomorrow!"

"Meaning what, exactly?" Timmy enquired, his attention briefly drifting over to Tootie as she reached over and stole a tater tot off his lunch tray.

" _Meaning_ some lucky girl _might_ be gettin' a surprise bouquet and box of chocolates from yours truly!" The teen grinned confidently.

"How very cliché." The raven-haired girl intoned, reaching over to swipe another of her crush's tiny potato nuggets. "Have you actually _picked_ this 'lucky girl' already, or are you just taking a shot in the dark and hoping whoever you hit reciprocates?"

"I've… Narrowed down the potential candidates." Chester replied in a hesitant manner, bringing his right hand up to cup his chin thoughtfully. "Definitely down to like, the top three, for sure..."

"Well, what's wrong with-" Timmy paused, glancing down and giving the bespectacled girl's hand a quick, light swat, prompting her to instantly jerk it away with a giggle. "What's wrong with cliché, Tootie? Would _you_ turn down a guy who surprised you with flowers and chocolates on Valentine's Day?"

"Hm~..." The raven-haired girl hummed, her lips curling up into a thoughtful smile. "I guess it'd all depend on who it was from..." She leaned over, her shoulder pressing against Timmy's as her violet eyes stared up at him, just barely peeking over the edge of her purple, horn-rimmed glasses. "I mean, if Trixie's just 'too busy' to be your Valentine tomorrow, you could always send those flowers and chocolates _my_ way…? We could share 'em?" _"You could_ _eat them off of me."_ Tootie thought to herself, subtly shivering at the idea.

"Ehehe… Ah… Th-That's an… Idea?" The brunet laughed nervously, his cheeks pinkening as his best friend leaned in close; almost uncomfortably so. It wasn't a secret to Timmy that the girl still harbored a _very_ serious crush on him, and had for several years now. True, it had fluctuated in intensity over the years, with some of Tootie's more affectionate mannerisms being downright suffocating one year, only for the girl to _greatly_ dial herself back the next, even to the point of practically _ignoring him_ on occasion, but never did she _quite_ give up on him completely... Though it was also fair to say she showed _much_ more restraint now than she had when they were ten.

Regarding that, this year had so far shown itself to be a mixed bag. Tootie hadn't gone as far as trying to kidnap him and tie him to her bed, but as their current proximity showed, she _was_ more than willing to get cuddly with him in front of Chester and AJ, and obviously in the middle of school, if the idea happened to strike her fancy.

To Timmy's credit, he neither completely returned her feelings, nor did he outright rebuff them; always doing his best to keep a 'middle of the road' type of mindset, though he'd caught himself on more than one occasion flirting with his admittedly adorable bespectacled friend(something he'd always reason to himself later as being completely unintentional).

"Jeez, you two. Just find a room and get it over with already…" Chester rolled his eyes at his two fellow teens. "Could cut the sexual tension in here with a spoon..."

"Y-You're crazy." The brunet stuttered, making his attempted rebuttal sound _less than convincing_ as he threw his left arm around Tootie's shoulders in a friendly manner. "Tootie's my best friend; she's practically like a sister to me. I don't think of her… Like _that_." He pulled the girl close into an affectionate side-hug, ignoring the tiny squeak she let out in appreciation. "S-See?"

"Mm~! Never let me go, Onii-Chan!" Tootie moaned playfully, before dropping her voice to a lower, somewhat huskier tone, causing her crush's cheeks to turn a much brighter shade of pink. "Ah-Heehee!" She cried out and soon fell into a fit of giggles as Timmy unwound his arm from her shoulders and lightly pushed her away.

"No more hugs for you. I'm cutting you off." The fifteen year old remarked sternly, eliciting a look of horror from the bubbly girl.

"Wha-! I…! You can't do this to me!" Tootie began to desperately plead with the brunet, her lower lip quivering as he turned away from her and crossed his arms. "If… If you do, I'll… Oh!" She smiled, leaning back over to wrap _both_ of her arms around Timmy's waist instead.

"Agh! H-Hey! Cut it out! Tootie, you're not helping!" The blue-eyed boy squirmed about in his seat, grabbing his friend by her shoulders and trying in vain to extricate himself from her vice-like grip.

"Could you two keep it down? You're making a scene… _Again_." AJ spoke up, his attention still glued to the schedule he was creating for himself on his phone.

"Right, _I'm_ the crazy one here..." Chester deadpanned, shaking his head at the 'not-couple'.

 _Later that day…_

With the school day having drawn to a close, the foursome now rode the bus home, along with a good thirty or so of their fellow classmates. Chester and AJ shared one seat, while Timmy and Tootie sat together in the one behind them; Tootie opting to take the spot by the window. "Still mad at me for the 'Onii-Chan' thing?" She turned away from the window to look at Timmy, who was currently browsing the internet with his phone, from what she could tell.

"Tootie, if _that_ was all it took for me to get mad at you, I don't think we'd be best friends, do you?" He looked up from his phone at her, shooting his friend a wry smile.

"Well I dunno, you've been giving me the silent treatment since lunch! I figured I might've gone too far with the incest subtext." Her lips curled up into a wide, innocent smile as she finished and cutely blinked her eyes closed.

This caused the teen to subtly jump in his seat, his phone nearly popping free from his hand. "T-Tootie! Can you _not_?!" Timmy whispered out harshly, sidling up a bit closer to the girl so their conversation could remain private. "Saying weird stuff like that is exactly how rumors get started!"

"Heehee! Would you relax? Nobody's _actually_ gonna think we're related because of a dumb joke!" The raven-haired girl couldn't help but giggle at her crush's desperate, almost paranoid tone.

"Considering we _are_ in high school, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Tootie." AJ interjected from the seat ahead of them, prompting Tootie to hop up into a kneeling position on her and Timmy's bus seat and peek over the back of the one he and Chester occupied.

"If I wanted comments from the peanut gallery, I'd ask for them, AJ!" The girl exclaimed playfully, nearly hanging the entire upper half of her body over the back of the bus seat.

This gave Timmy a momentary reprieve from his babysitter's younger sister, but also left him with _quite_ the view, namely because her rear-end was now almost level with his face.

"Mngh..." The brunet growled quietly and crossed his arms, forcing himself to stare straight ahead… At first. Before long, he found his gaze slowly drifting to his left, where it first settled on her legs, then steadily trailed up them, until falling squarely on her butt, the rounded curves of which were gently outlined by the skirt Tootie wore.

Out of Timmy and his three friends, Tootie was the one who'd seemed to have changed the most over the past five years. Chester had gotten his braces removed, but kept mostly the same hairstyle, and still wore a greenish blazer over black or dark-colored t-shirts with jeans; AJ was, of course, still bald, and _still_ insisted that sweater-vests were the best thing since sliced bread; and even Timmy himself hadn't changed overmuch. He still wore the same pink hat and jeans in various shades of blue, though he'd occasionally wear t-shirts of colors _other_ than pink. He still retained his somewhat pronounced buck-teeth, and he, much like Chester, still sported a similar hairstyle to when he was ten, though it was now _just a bit_ longer. Of course the three boys in the group were also somewhat taller, and perhaps a bit more muscular, but essentially, they looked like older versions of their ten year old selves.

Tootie; on the other hand, had matured much more obviously, and not just in the sense that she was developing the curves of a female young adult. Her purple, horn-rimmed glasses remained the same, but gone were her braces, and the awkward, sometimes neurotic way she once carried herself. She still wore a short-sleeve, white button-up shirt, but the black vest she used to wear over it was gone, and the gray, plaid skirt she wore when she was younger was swapped out for one bearing greens, blues, and purples, while still retaining the plaid pattern like her old one. Her black knee-high socks were now _thigh_ -high socks that reached up past the hem of her skirt, and she most often sported a pair of black sneakers, much like her older sister. Finally, she no longer wore her hair up in a pair of girlish pigtails, and instead had it in a sort of bob-style that framed her face, with her bangs partially swept across her forehead. Timmy thought it made her look a bit like Nicki, Tootie and Vicki's mother, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"I'm just saying: you should watch what you say. The four of us are still seen as prime targets by the likes of Francis and a lot of people who are more popular than us." AJ chastised his bespectacled friend in a firm tone. "It only takes one misheard joke to create a rumor that balloons out of control."

"Oh please, if that were the case, there'd be _way_ more rumors floating around about Trixie and Veronica being an item! So far, the only one talking about _that one_ is me!" Tootie shot back with a self-satisfied smirk, her arms resting atop the back of Chester and AJ's bus seat, with her chest settled on top of them.

"Hey, you're gonna regret sitting like that when the bus driver hits the brakes, Tootie." Timmy attempted to insert himself into the argument, but his voice was drowned out by the myriad conversations of his fellow classmates, Tootie and AJ's included. "Tootie." He raised his voice, speaking in a more forceful tone as he stared at his friend more intensely, his gaze slowly trailing down her back and again settling on her rear-end as his warning continued to go unnoticed. _"I know_ one _way to get her attention..."_ Knowing he'd soon come to regret his next action, but deciding he'd go through with it anyway; if only to see how the girl would react, Timmy sat forward a little and brought his left hand back, then threw it forward, delivering a quick, open-palmed slap to Tootie's right buttock.

"Eep!" She jumped at the swift smack to her rear-end, the contact making her tense up for just a moment before she instantly dropped back down into her seat next to her crush, at least two of the girl's cheeks now stained a pretty shade of pink. "Nnh~..." The violet-eyed girl let out a quiet moan as she turned to look at the brunet with a sultry grin. "You're sending me a _lot_ of mixed signals today, Timmy..." She leaned closer to him, her right hand gently settling on the one that slapped her. "But anyway, you have my attention…?"

"Hah… I was _trying_ to get you to sit down; you're gonna get hurt one day, hanging over the seats like that." The teen sighed out, ignoring the distinct shuddering quality to his friend's voice.

"There _are_ easier ways to get my attention, y'know..." Tootie continued to grin at him, lightly drumming her fingers atop the back of Timmy's hand.

"Well _that_ worked, didn't it?" He reasoned with a quick shrug of his shoulders, hoping Tootie would at least 'behave' herself with all their fellow schoolmates on the bus, though he knew he'd be at her mercy once they reached their stop. _"_ Why _did that seem like such a good idea five seconds ago…?"_

"Fuck yeah it did..." Tootie muttered low enough so only Timmy could hear her as she subtly rubbed her thighs against each other, a weighty heat making itself known between her legs.

"Hehehe… Alright, dial it back a little..." The brunet chuckled, playing off the girl's statement as a joke, despite finding himself a little caught off-guard by her... Choice of words. "I'm just looking out for you; we both know Vicki'd never let me hear the end of it if you got hurt on my watch."

"Teehee! You're _always_ using that excuse!" Tootie giggled, peering over the edge of her glasses at her crush.

"What excuse?"

"That Vicki expects you to keep me out of harm's way under pain of death or bodily harm." The bespectacled girl explained, her lips curling up into a knowing grin. "You can _say_ it's because of my big sis all you want, we both know the real worrier, is you!" She gave him a quick, emphasizing little poke as she finished. "Not that I don't appreciate you being the 'knight' to my 'lady'…!"

"Tch." Timmy jerked his hand out from under Tootie's and crossed his arms petulantly, doing his best to avoid meeting her gaze. "I only 'worry' because you're so good at finding trouble..." He lied, knowing that if he _did_ admit to being overprotective of the girl, she'd only become even _more_ affectionate and clingy… Assuming that was even possible.

"Hey, it isn't _always_ me! I'm perfectly innocent!" The girl exclaimed in playful defense, fluttering her eyelashes at the brunet. "...Most of the time." She admitted, still smiling cutely at Timmy as he rolled his eyes, while Chester snickered to himself in the seat ahead of theirs.

Before long, the school bus was passing through the familiar streets of the neighborhood the four called home, and was fast approaching the stop Timmy and Tootie shared; their houses being roughly the same distance(though in opposite directions) from said stop.

"Hey!" The raven-haired girl perked up, an idea coming to mind as the bus began to slow. "Why don't you… Come over for a bit?"

"...For what?" The teen questioned warily, shooting his friend a skeptical look.

"Just to hang out." Tootie replied, her tone largely indifferent. "You're already walking me home, aren't you?"

"Well… Yeah, I guess..." Timmy absently scratched at his nose with his index finger, the action of walking the girl home having long since become just another part of his daily routine once he and Tootie became friends. He never really thought about or questioned it, it was just a habit he'd fallen into after she'd asked him to do it a few times.

"And I assume you don't have any big plans today, right? I mean, the flower shops are probably all closed, and Vicki's not babysitting you today, so…?" The bespectacled girl reasoned, smiling as she watched her crush begin to consider her offer.

" _Could always just have Cosmo and Wanda poof me up something for Trixie tomorrow..."_ The fifteen year old thought to himself, holding his chin contemplatively. "I… _Suppose_ I can hang out for a little while..."

" _Heehee!_ Now _I've got you…!"_ Tootie mused to herself deviously as she held back the urge to tackle her crush into a hug. "Yes! Alone at last!" She fist-pumped, in turn causing Timmy to sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose.

" _Tootie_..." He groaned, _immediately_ having second thoughts about what he might have just unknowingly agreed to.

"Oh calm _down_!" The girl chuckled, giving her crush's shoulder a light shove. "I'll be on my _best_ behavior, scout's honor!" She mimicked the well-known, oath-swearing pose, barely containing the excited shiver that ran through her body.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: No longer sick. Still have infection though. But hey, here's more Tootie descending into mild Yandere territory!

* * *

Happy to be off the bus and away from the prying eyes of her fellow schoolmates, Tootie strolled down the sidewalk alongside her crush, a notable bounce in her step as she smiled contentedly. "So, what should we do when we get to my place?"

"You're asking _me_? _You_ were the one who asked me if I wanted to hang out!" Timmy exclaimed with a grin, wondering how his best friend could be both so smart, and yet so scatterbrained at the same time.

"I half-expected you to say no, what with tomorrow being Valentine's Day and you wanting to get a gift for 'She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named'." The bespectacled girl finished in a tone dripping with venom, scarcely able to contain her absolute disdain for the girl known more commonly by the name 'Trixie Tang'.

"Is today gonna lead into another lecture about how I shouldn't have a crush on Trixie just because you say I shouldn't?" The male teen groaned out wearily, briefly craning his neck back to look up at the sky. "Tootie, I like hanging out with you, and I like that you're my best friend. I know I can pretty much come to you with anything-" _"Or just about anything."_ Timmy thought to himself, his fairy godparents springing to mind. "-But I can't change who I like or have a crush on… I mean, have I ever asked you to _not_ have a crush on me?"

"No, but I wouldn't listen to you anyway." Tootie declared in a friendly, chipper tone of voice as she slightly adjusted the straps of her backpack.

"And so I should listen to _you_ , because…?" The brunet trailed off expectantly.

"Because I'm right, obviously." She answered casually with a small shrug. "Not to mention, you just said I'm your best friend, why would I steer you wrong?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because this _particular_ suggestion benefits you exclusively?" Timmy insisted matter-of-factly, shooting the girl a knowing, lopsided smirk.

"Not true." The girl began as she and her crush turned and strode up her house's front walk. "For starters, yes, it _does_ benefit me, _that_ I won't deny." Tootie reached for her front doorknob, only to pause and pull her hand away as she remembered it was probably locked. "But…" She bent down in front of her fellow teen, practically presenting her rear-end to him once again as she fished her house key out from under the porch's welcome mat. "I think you might find that my suggestion 'benefits' you, as well!" She glanced over her shoulder at Timmy, just in time to catch him staring at her butt, though he was quick to look away once he noticed he'd been caught. "Maybe..." Tootie stood up straight and spun around on her heel, leaving her face mere inches from Timmy's. "In more ways than one…?"

"Heh… You just don't quit, do you?" The brunet glanced away evasively as he jammed his hands into his pockets. If he was being honest, he didn't necessarily _hate_ the attention he got from the girl on a near-daily basis, it was just made him feel… Confused, and more than a little conflicted, on occasion.

Ever since he and Tootie fled from Francis all the way to her house one fateful afternoon, the two of them; and additionally he and Vicki, had become quite close. His relationship with Vicki had changed dramatically, with the two of them burying the hatchet entirely and becoming fast friends, while he and Tootie developed what _he_ saw as a brother/sister-type bond. He grew somewhat protective of her, despite her often annoying clinginess, and welcomed the girl into his, Chester, and AJ's little group, giving her a place to fit in, since she mostly lacked such a thing during school hours.

Evidently; however, Tootie saw things differently, and treated him like some kind of knight, or a hero, even. She always sat as close as she could to him during lunch, simple things like holding the door or friendly smiles invariably earned him cutesy giggles or a quick fluttering of the girl's eyelashes in response, and sleepovers… He had to thank Tootie's apparently _massive_ amount of self-control during those, as by some miracle, the most intimate thing that happened during _those_ was Tootie cuddling up to him, and treating him just a _bit_ like a Timmy-sized teddy bear.

"I pride myself on being both consistent, and _per_ sistent!" The raven-haired girl beamed as she turned back around and unlocked her front door, before bending over in front of her crush once again to return the key to its hiding spot.

"So I noticed..." Timmy muttered under his breath, unable to stop himself from enjoying another generous helping of eye candy. "You… Guys aren't worried about someone finding that and breaking in?" He forced himself to break eye contact with the girl's rear-end, opting to instead look up and down the quiet, empty street that Tootie's house was on.

"What, _here_?" The fifteen year old girl asked, shooting the boy a look of incredulity. "We live in the _suburbs_ of Dimmsdale! It's probably one of the safest neighborhoods in the state, not to mention, _Vicki_ lives here; people know better than to rob the Valentines."

"Mm… Guess you've got a point." The brunet nodded once in agreement, remembering just _who_ they were talking about. "After what I heard happened to her ex, there..."

"Eugh… Yeah, Ricky?" Tootie winced, partially in disgust, and partially out of sympathy for what she was fairly confident her older sister _herself_ had done to her ex-boyfriend. "Talk about sending a message… But anyway! Come on in!" After trailing off for a moment, the girl instantly regained her chipper demeanor and let herself into her house, Timmy following close behind and shutting the door behind them. "Mom? Dad? ...Vicki? Anyone home?" Tootie called out to the rest of the house, but received naught but silence in response.

"Huh, Vicki's car's in the driveway..." Timmy spoke up as he peered out the window at his babysitter's bright red sports car. "You think she might be-"

"Sleeping? Probably." The bespectacled girl interjected, casting a knowing look at the ceiling, above which was her older sister's room. "Knowing her, she'll be out until dinner."

"Then that means _I'll_ be stealing one of her pink lemonades!" The teen declared as he darted across the living room, absently tossing his backpack onto the couch as he passed it, before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Hehehe! Yeah, if she _left_ _you_ any!" Tootie slipped off her sneakers and nonchalantly kicked them over by the door, then crossed her living room to join her crush in the kitchen. "Grab me something while you're in there?" She asked, peeking over the open refrigerator door down at Timmy, who was now crouched in front of it.

"Something." Timmy parroted the word in a deadpan tone. "A stick of butter? Bottle of mustard? Entire gallon of-"

"Something to _drink_ , Smartass!" She laughed, partially hanging her upper body over the door of the fridge to get a better look at her options.

"Milk, orange juice, orange _soda_ , reddish-purple stuff..."

"It's _grape_ _juice_ , Timmy." Tootie pointed out the clear and obvious label bearing a picture of a bunch of red grapes. "And I have… Plans for that, so don't touch it."

The brunet glanced up at his friend with a quizzical expression. "Plans? ...Involving grape juice?"

"Mm-hm!" Tootie hummed out with an innocent smile.

"...What _sort_ of 'plans'?" Timmy questioned suspiciously, his lips forming a slight frown as he raised an eyebrow at Tootie's cryptic answer.

" _I'm gonna dump a glass of it on your crotch so I have an excuse to suck your-"_ "Just an experiment!" Again, the raven-haired girl answered in a friendly, innocent tone, making her sound just a bit like a certain redhead, when _she_ would butter up the parents of the kids she babysat. "Anyway, I'll take an orange juice!"

" _A grape juice experiment?"_ The fifteen year old wondered to himself as he turned back towards the fridge, grabbing a twenty ounce bottle of pink lemonade for himself, and an identically-sized bottle of orange juice for Tootie. "Here." He rose to stand up straight, handing off Tootie's procured beverage of choice before opening his and taking a long, drawn-out swig from it. "Ahh..."

"Heehee! Afraid Vicki's gonna wake up early and find you raiding her stash?" Tootie smirked, taking a quick sip from her own bottle of juice as she finished.

"Nah, just haven't had anything to drink all day… Or since lunch, anyway." The teen drank down another large sip, leaving the bottle with just a third of its original contents. "Also, I really like pink lemonade."

"Probably 'cause you spend so much time around Vicki; she must be rubbing off on you." Tootie reasoned, speaking over her shoulder as she spun around and headed back into the living room.

"That's not exactly my choice, y'know." Timmy called after the girl as he stepped around the door of the refrigerator and lightly kicked it closed. "My parents still pay her to babysit either me or my house most days, and on the days she _isn't_ keeping an eye on me, I'm usually over _here_ , hanging out with you! I can't escape!" He whined melodramatically, earning him an eye-roll from Tootie as she looked back at him from where she stood in front of the couch.

"So in summary: your parents pay _my sister_ to hang out with you, take you out to eat, bring you shopping, _and_ beat up Francis. Then, on the days they don't, you get to hang out with a cute girl who shares pretty much _all_ of your interests, partake of whatever you want from our kitchen, _and_ , if she's awake, you get to hang out with Vicki even _more_! Truly, you live a cursed existence." Tootie remarked dryly as she finished, shooting the brunet a knowing, skeptical look.

"Thank you! Finally, someone who gets it!" He exclaimed in just as sarcastic a tone as Tootie's, throwing his hands up in the air in mock-exasperation.

" _This is the boy I'm madly in love with."_ The bespectacled girl mentally deadpanned, staving off the urge to swoon at the mere _thought_ of her own admission. "Coming from literally _anyone_ else, that'd sound pretty ungrateful, but since it's _you_ , I'm inclined to let it slide… This time." She playfully narrowed her eyes at her crush. "Getting back on point though… What do you wanna do? We could watch TV down here, or… I dunno, head up to my room… Entertain ourselves some _other_ way…?"

Timmy blushed, immediately picking up on the sultry tone in his friend's voice. "Why-Uh… Heheh... Why don't we just hang out down here?" He offered, knowing Tootie was less likely to try anything in the living room, due to the risk of her parents coming home and catching them(though mostly her) in the midst of some intimate act. _"She sure is acting pushier than normal today… Or… More suggestive, at least."_

"Oh, okay..." Tootie mumbled out dejectedly, only to quickly realize her mistake and force a happy, carefree smile. "But… Ah, who cares where we hang out? L-Long as we're together, just enjoying each others' company, that's _enough_ , right?" She subconsciously gritted her teeth on 'enough', more to convince herself than her crush.

"Well… Y-Yes? You… You actually think so too?" The brunet's eyes subtly widened in surprise. He'd expected her to be a bit more persistent than that.

"A-Absolutely! I'm not trying to make you… Uncomfortable, or anything!" She smiled again, hoping she could force her less rational thoughts down, at least for now. "You-Uh… You go ahead and pick." Tootie nodded at the remote, then slid it across the coffee table over to Timmy. "You know me, I'm fine with… Whatever..." She quietly inhaled a deep breath to calm herself, realizing she'd actually gotten _really_ psyched up at the idea of her and Timmy going up to her room.

"Alright-" Timmy began, only to cut himself off as he unceremoniously fell back into the couch with a muffled thud. "Let's see..." He turned the TV on and immediately began clicking through channels, stopping on each one just long enough to see if there was anything interesting playing. "Some guy eating bugs in the jungle… Crash Nebula… Some guy yelling at a bunch of chefs..."

"Pssh..." The raven-haired girl roughly plopped down on the couch and exhaled the breath she'd been holding, then slipped her arms out of the straps of her backpack and quietly set it down next to the couch. "So I was thinking..."

"Yeah?" The brunet slightly turned his head to face his friend, though his eyes remained firmly locked on the television.

Tootie stretched her arm toward the coffee table, setting her bottle of juice down roughly in front of the couch's middle cushion. "You know how my mom and dad are always talking about how they wanna go on some big camping trip every year, right?" She asked, scooting over to occupy the couch cushion right next to Timmy's.

"Yeah, but then they never go either because there's an important meeting at one of their works, or a last-minute appointment comes along that someone forgot about…" The fifteen year old trailed off as he stopped channel-surfing for a moment to see if he recognized the movie that was on.

"Well _this_ year, it looks like it might _finally_ happen!" The girl beamed excitedly, her sudden change in tone prompting Timmy to end his staring contest with the TV.

"Really?! You guys are actually gonna be able to go?" Timmy shot his friend a look of genuine surprise. She'd been telling him about this fabled camping trip for years now, and had always seemed a little down when summer came and went without said trip coming to pass. "That's awesome!"

"Heehee! It's still a little early to know for sure, but my mom and dad made sure to clear both their schedules ahead of time for _three whole weeks_ this summer, so _they_ should at least be all set to go." She smiled, beginning to feel a bit giddy at the thought of the next part of their conversation.

"That's great, Tootie! I'm happy for you, really. I honestly can't remember the last time I did anything like that with _my_ mom and dad… Come to think of it..." Timmy adopted a thoughtful expression, folding one arm across his chest while bringing the hand of the other up to hold his chin. "Ever since I hit my teens, I probably see _your_ parents more often than I see my _own_..."

"Ah!" Tootie's face fell almost immediately, and she raised her hands up in front of herself apologetically, only to cover her mouth and nose with them as she slightly bowed her head. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to-Um...!" On reflex, the bespectacled girl tackled her crush, haphazardly wrapping her arms around the teen in an effort to comfort him. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad!"

"Ack! T-Tootie! You don't-Ehehe! You don't have to-Nnh! Treat me like I'm m-made of glass, or… Or walk on eggshells around me b-because of my parents! I-I'm _fine_ , really!" The brunet giggled as his friend's arms squeezed his sides, and her hair brushed against his neck and face, making him squirm at the ticklish sensation the contact elicited. "C-Come on, we've… We've been over this before, I know my parents love me, just-Ah! Just in their own way!"

"Hehehe… I _know…_!" The raven-haired girl mumbled into his neck, then slowly pulled away and looked up at her crush, her glasses slipping an inch or so off her nose as she grinned at him mischievously. "But hey, now I don't have to spend the next five minutes sneaking over here red-light-green-light style!"

Upon hearing this, the fifteen year old looked down at Tootie; who now clung to him not unlike a tree frog, and blushed as he realized she had him right where she wanted him. "Ngh… Wh-What happened to you being on your 'best behavior, scout's honor'?"

"I haven't been a member of the Sugar Cream Puffs for _four years_!" Tootie laughed. "And obviously, that means I'm no scout!"

"Agh… W-Well, you still need to get off." Timmy winced as he tried in vain to wriggle out of his friend's grip.

" _About time we came to an agreement on_ that _!"_ The just _slightly_ younger of the two teens mused to herself as she gently bit her lower lip. "Aw, c'mon… You don't _usually_ mind cuddling with me on the couch when we watch a scary movie…?" Just put one on! It'll be fine!"

"Tch, th-that's not the point..." The buck-toothed teen gritted his teeth as he turned in place and gripped Tootie's shoulders with both hands, trying his best to gently push her away and escape the girl's hug.

"Mngh… Fine..." Tootie hummed out a low growl, but begrudgingly obliged her crush and pulled away, her hands dropping to her lap where she kept them busy by slowly wringing the hem of her skirt.

"Ngah!" Timmy let out a loud cry of exertion as he pulled his backpack out from behind him, then roughly tossed it over the arm of the couch. "Aow… Stupid zippers were digging into my spine..." He sat forward, gingerly rubbing his sore back.

"Oh." The bespectacled girl mouthed the word somewhat dumbly, her body flooding with relief upon realizing the cause of Timmy's discomfort hadn't been her at all, but the backpack he'd absently sat against.

"Er… S-Still wanna watch a scary movie?" The brunet nervously muttered the question out, just in time for Tootie to tackle him into another cuddly embrace.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Another chapter? Sure, why not? But now I have to continue on my quest to be the very best, like no one ever was.

* * *

" _Why do I do this to myself?"_ Timmy, now propped up with his elbow and lying on his side across most of the length of the couch, chanced a quick look down at Tootie, who in turn was lying behind him on _her_ side, the two teens' bodies flush against one another. In addition, the girl had taken the liberty of creeping under his arm and laying her head upon his chest, treating him like a pillow, and leaving his left arm draped across her shoulders and upper back. "Y-You sure you're comfy… Like that?"

"Mm-hm!" Tootie hummed against his chest, the vibrations from the sound leaving behind a slight tingling sensation. "I could go right to sleep! ...Or, if you'd prefer… I could lie in _front_ of you, instead…?" She offered in a low, suggestive tone, tilting her head back to look up at her crush.

"In… In f-front?" The fifteen year old questioned meekly, his mind quickly painting a mental picture of what his friend was implying. They were both 'about' the same height, Tootie would be lying in front of him, and her butt would be right about where his…!

"Ahm…! N-No, lying like this, in this position is f-fine! I-I'm fine like this!" Timmy stammered out, his cheeks turning a bright, rosy shade of pink. "A-And, um… D-Don't fall asleep, either. Last time you did, you ended up drooling all over my shirt, so… Yeah..." He lamely tried to play off his embarrassment; a tiny bit of relief washing over him as Tootie turned her attention back to the movie they were watching.

"Heh… But being the gentleman you are, you didn't wake me up, even though you could've!" She nuzzled her cheek against the brunet's chest, her arm imperceptibly tightening around his waist.

"No, but..." _"But you're cute when you're asleep."_ "But you looked… Comfortable, and… It… It's not like I had anywhere _special_ to be, that day..." Timmy subtly shifted about, trying in vain to find a more relaxed position in Tootie's grip, while at the same time doing his best to avoid disturbing her, since _she_ ,at least, was apparently quite content.

"Heehee… Got anywhere special to be _today…_?" A low, pleasant giggle escaped the girl, though her gaze remained locked on the TV screen.

"Well, I _do_ have to head home at _some point_ today, Tootie. Cosmo and Wanda aren't gonna feed themselves, we _both_ have homework to do, and I don't normally carry a change of clothes for surprise sleepovers." Timmy stated matter-of-factly, opting to leave out that he _still_ obviously hadn't acquired a Valentine's Day gift for Trixie.

"Mm, guess you've got a point; I wouldn't wanna be responsible for you getting _another_ 'F' from Crocker, nor your goldfish starving to death..." Tootie remarked off-handedly, clearly only paying the bare minimum amount of attention to what the brunet had said. "Gonna stick around to finish the movie, at least?"

The question prompted Timmy to look up at the digital clock on the TV's cable box, which indicated the time as a quarter past four. "I don't see why not." He shrugged gently, figuring another forty-five minutes or so wouldn't _kill_ him. Probably. "You're okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Tootie asked, then almost immediately flinched at the sound of a scare chord in the movie they were watching, the sound itself signaling the appearance of the film's masked serial killer.

"I dunno, I figured you'd want me to stick around a little longer, that's all. Pretty sure this ends around five." The buck-toothed teen nodded at the TV.

"What, you think you're the only one who's got stuff to do today? You already said you can't sleep over, and we've both got homework to do. Homework that _won't_ be getting done if you _do_ stick around." The bespectacled girl stated in a simple, yet logical tone, her once content expression shifting to a more neutral one.

"Am I _that_ distracting, Toots?" Timmy quirked up an eyebrow at the girl, his lips curling up into a quizzical grin.

Tootie felt her heart flutter at the cutesy nickname, the usage of which had once been exclusive to her older sister, though once Timmy heard Vicki refer to the girl as such, he'd occasionally do the same, almost guaranteeing a blush from her. "Is that even a question?"

"Heheh, point taken." The teen gently rubbed the upper bicep of his friend's right arm, the action almost unconscious, and certainly not deliberate.

" _More mixed signals..."_ The raven-haired girl thought to herself, chancing another quick look up at Turner. _"Is he_ trying _to drive me crazy today?!"_ She gritted her teeth, though more out of frustration than anger, with the slap Timmy had given her rear-end earlier that afternoon still fresh in her mind, and their current closeness not helping matters in the slightest.

Getting down to the honest truth, she was turned on, aroused, horny; though that last one was _far_ too embarrassing to use other than inside her own head. And while she enjoyed spending as much time alone with her crush as she could get, if he wasn't willing(at the moment) to fulfill certain… 'Needs', she had(and she herself wasn't _quite_ willing to tie him down and fulfill said needs in a less consensual manner), it only made sense to cut their time together short; they could always hang out another day, after all. "So, about earlier…?" She spoke up, hoping to steer her mind away from the less-than-innocent thoughts pervading it.

"About what earlier?" Timmy tilted his head down, shooting his best friend a curious look.

"Well~… I never really got around to asking you about our camping trip, so..." She trailed off, turning her head to look up at the boy, her chin settling against his chest.

"Because you tackled me and pretended to act apologetic for bringing up my parents' neglect towards me, I remember." The brunet adopted a wide, lighthearted smile, his blue eyes flashing playfully.

"I'm in prime _biting_ proximity, Timmy. Don't tempt me." Tootie threatened with a lopsided grin, flashing her teeth on just the left side of her mouth. "But seriously, summer'll be here before we know it, so I was thinking… Would you maybe wanna come with us?"

"Wha? M-Me? Camping?" The brunet found himself rendered temporarily speechless. It had been years since he'd gone camping, the last time being when he was ten and still in the Squirrel Scouts, and even then, he wasn't exactly _great_ at camping. Much of what he knew was taught to him by his dad, and after five whole years, there was little of it that actually stuck. He could pitch a tent, and probably build a campfire in a pinch, but other than that…

"Well, my parents, me, Vicki, _and_ you; but yeah, if you don't have any plans this summer. You could have Chester or AJ take care of Cosmo and Wanda, since your parents are… Well, your parents, and… I mean, do you have any _other_ obligations?" The raven-haired teen asked, peering up at her crush with a hopeful expression.

"Not… Really, no..." Timmy rolled his eyes, his gaze turning up toward the ceiling as he gave Tootie's offer some thought. _"No way am I going camping for_ any _length of time without Cosmo and Wanda; I'd rather be safe than sorry..."_ He mused to himself, knowing firsthand how dangerous the wilderness could be. "Any idea where we'd be going?"

"Not yet, but probably one of the state parks or forests; my parents have always wanted to see those huge redwood trees. I haven't even asked them if it's okay for you to come, but I'm like, ninety-nine percent sure they'll say yes, and there's more than enough room for you in the car… Hold on, you're actually thinking about it?!" Tootie beamed at her crush excitedly, pushing herself up onto her hand and knees, shrugging his arm off her shoulders as a result.

"Er… Yes? Do you _not_ want me to come, or-"

"No-! Ah! I mean, y-yes! Of course I do!" She quickly cut him off, her body now nearly shaking with excitement. "I just… Wasn't sure if you'd want to go, or not!" _"And the other option was me staying here alone and having the house all to ourselves!"_

"I'd like to, just… I mean, I dunno about you, but it's been a while since the last time _I've_ been camping, I might be… A little rusty?" Timmy self-consciously rubbed the back of his head, the slightest tinge of pink appearing on his cheeks. _"What good was learning about camping and all those survival skills if none of them stuck?"_

"Same here, I haven't been camping since back when we were ten, but… Hey, maybe it's like riding a bike, everything might just come back to us once we're out there!" Tootie proposed with a reassuring, confident smile. "And if it doesn't, we've got my dad and Vicki to fall back on."

"Vicki knows about camping?" The brunet shot his stalker-turned-friend an incredulous look. Since _when_ was Vicki an expert on camping and the outdoors?

"Well she used to be a member of the Sugar Cream Puffs, and she stayed with them until she was about… Fourteen; so yeah, Vicki knows her stuff." Tootie pushed herself up into a kneeling position on the couch as she finished, then crossed her arms and nodded, seemingly needing to confirm everything she'd just said herself.

"...Shut up." Timmy stared at the girl, wide-eyed; his mouth hanging open in shock at what he'd just heard. " _Vicki_ used to be a Sugar Cream Puff? _Your_ older sister?" The teen couldn't hide the amused grin beginning to spread across his face.

"Eyep. But-Eh… Don't tell her I told you, she really might kill me if she finds out; y'know, her 'reputation' and everything." The girl raised her hands up at either side of her, briefly forming air quotes with her fingers.

"Agh! Then why'd you _tell_ me?! I can't _not_ tease Vicki about this, not after I finally _have something_ to tease her about!" The brunet complained in disappointment, then turned over onto his back, before butting the back of his head against the arm of the couch.

"Then… Tell her you heard it from our mom and dad, or something! She won't kill _them…_ Probably." Tootie glanced away in a somewhat evasive manner, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "And hey!" She quickly refocused her attention on Timmy and sprang forward, landing in such a way that left her essentially squatting on top of the teen, her hands pressing down on his chest for balance, and making her posture look not unlike a frog's as she stared down at him with a sly smirk. "You _still_ haven't given me an answer!"

"Ngh..." He groaned, his friend's rear-end now situated atop a _very_ sensitive place. "A-About going camping? I… I'll need to see if Chester or AJ can feed Cosmo and Wanda..." Timmy lied, having absolutely _no_ intention of going _anywhere_ in the wilderness without his godparents. "B-But… Yeah, I'd like to go, if it's cool with your parents…?" He had to admit, the idea of camping definitely made him more than a little nervous, especially since he'd only ever gone camping with his own family, but he was obviously quite close to both Tootie and Vicki, and their parents were always happy to let him stay for dinner or sleepovers with Tootie, so evidently he was on good enough terms to be seen as something resembling a member of the family…

"Really? So you really want to go?" The raven-haired teen's smirk widened into a full-blown smile as she unconsciously dipped her head low, her face mere inches from Timmy's.

"Agh…! Yes! I _really_ want to go! Now… Stop pressing down so hard on my chest…!" The brunet gasped out, prompting a squeak of surprise from his best friend as she almost instantly pulled away and meekly held her hands in front of her chest.

"Heehee! S-Sorry..." A nervous giggle escaped the girl as she shifted back into a kneeling position; her legs on either side of the teen, though this just meant she was now straddling Timmy in a 'more-than-just-friends' kind of way.

"No… No worries..." Timmy took a few deep, quiet breaths, his mind not even registering the rather _compromising_ position he and Tootie were in as he turned his head to look at the movie they'd been watching, and quickly realized the credits were already rolling. "Whoa… Is it five already?"

"Mm..." The bespectacled girl hummed as she fished her phone out of her button-up shirt's breast pocket, her tongue just barely peeking out from between her lips. "Nope, it's a quarter to five. I think this one has an atypical run time." She gave the TV a quick sideways nod, then set her phone down on the coffee table, a mischievous grin adorning her face once more as she stared down at her crush. "Y'know the saying: 'time flies when you're having fun'!" She gently bounced up and down on top of the brunet-more specifically-on top of his crotch, eliciting a wince that was soon followed by an almost comically serious look.

"I think you're having _too much_ fun, Tootie..." Timmy muttered out wearily, forcibly emptying his mind to avoid thinking about just _where_ the girl was sitting.

"Or maybe _we're_ not having enough..." The violet-eyed girl remarked sultrily, again planting the palms of her hands down on Turner's chest, though much more carefully and gently this time. "...Teehee! Just kidding!" She let out a teasing, girlish giggle, then dismounted her crush, swinging her left leg over him as she hopped off the couch and to her feet.

"Hah… You really worry me sometimes, you know that?" The buck-toothed teen sighed as he pushed himself up into a sitting position and swung his legs off the couch.

"Aw! Well if you worry about me, that just means you care, right?" Tootie questioned innocently, her hands clasped together and hidden behind her back.

" _That's_ not _what I meant."_ Timmy thought to himself, though his only response was a deadpan stare directed at his best friend.

"Okay, okay!" She chuckled, finding that even her crush's serious, annoyed face could make her a little weak at the knees. "Jeez, like it'd kill you to let a girl have a little _fun_." Tootie rolled her eyes dramatically, but nonetheless offered the male teen her hand, which he accepted after a moment of thought. "But I know you can only handle me in small doses, so-Eep!" A tiny squeak escaped her as she pulled Timmy to his feet, only for him to pull _her_ in close, his left arm looping around the small of her back as the two teens were pressed flush against each other. "T-Timmy?"

"Is _this_ the sort of 'fun' you had in mind?" The blue-eyed teen spoke in an uncharacteristically calm and cool tone of voice, his cheeks dusted a light shade of pink that didn't even _compare_ to the bright red blush of surprise decorating Tootie's own cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

" _Oh fuck,_ yes _! Bend me over this table and do me right here!"_ "U-Uhm..." Despite the lewd thoughts practically being screamed in her mind, the younger Valentine found her words had left her, and her mouth was entirely uncooperative, blurting out little more than a small noise of confusion.

Where had this suddenly confident Timmy come from? Why did his blue eyes seem so striking all of a sudden? And why couldn't she bring herself to seize the golden opportunity staring her right in the face?!

"I-Mmph?" Tootie opened her mouth to speak, only to find herself silenced by her crush's index finger delicately settling on her lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Toots." With that, Timmy unwound his arm from around the girl and took a step back, then reached over the side of the couch to grab his backpack and slipped it onto his shoulders.

"Wha…? H-Hey! Wait a second! Y-You can't just-!" The bespectacled girl struggled to form a coherent sentence, her heart still beating rapidly in her chest, while her mind felt hazy and somehow warm.

"I can, and just _did_." The brunet remarked confidently as he spun around to face Tootie and slowly walked backwards towards the front door, revealing that despite his self-assured tone, his cheeks were now nearly scarlet.

"T-That's not fair! I-! You shouldn't… P-Play with my emotions like tha-..." The fifteen year old caught herself, realizing she didn't _exactly_ have the moral high ground in this argument, considering her history with Timmy. "...I hate you." _"No I don't."_

"Ehehe! Now we both know _that_ isn't true!" Timmy giggled as he pulled the front door open, and stepped out into the late afternoon sunlight.

" _Damn."_ "W-Well… Still! Not cool!" Tootie exclaimed, then stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at him, her arms crossed petulantly.

"Heh! Later, Tootie." Timmy gave her a quick wave goodbye, then shut the door behind him and headed for home, leaving the frustrated girl alone in her family's living room.

"Rrgh…!" Tootie growled out through clenched teeth as her hands roughly wrung the hem of her skirt. "Y-You are _so_ lucky I froze up!" She bowed her head slightly, the lenses of her glasses beginning to fog up due to how hot her anger was making her. "Hah..." The girl let out a sigh as she stood up straight and undid the top three buttons of her white school shirt, baring some of her upper chest to the relatively cool air of the living room. "Tch, 'least I can get in some 'me' time, now..." She mumbled to herself, turning off the TV as she maneuvered in between the couch and the coffee table, then snatched up her backpack and quickly made for the stairs, her stockinged feet producing barely audible footfalls on the hard, wooden steps as she climbed them to her house's second floor, before rounding the corner and heading down the hall to her room, the trek causing her to pass Vicki's and her parents' rooms on the way.

Upon reaching the door to her bedroom, the raven-haired girl cautiously turned the knob and pushed the door open, then deftly slipped into her room and closed the door behind her, and finally let out a shaky, nervous-sounding breath as she leaned back against it. "Phew..." Tootie carefully set her bag down by the door, then crossed her room and stopped in front of the end table by her bed. She pulled its single drawer open and withdrew a pair of earbud headphones; which were soon slipped into her ears, then plugged them into her phone as she lied down on the comforter that covered her bed.

After shifting about for a moment to get comfortable, the fifteen year old set her phone's music to auto-play and set the device down just to her left. "Nnh." With that done, she bent her legs at the knees and raised her rear-end and lower back up, lifted her skirt and hooked the thumb and index finger of both hands into the waistband of her panties, then pulled them down past her thighs until they were around her knees, at which point she wiggled her legs out of them and finally kicked them off, causing them to land somewhere out of sight, beyond the foot of her bed.

Tootie let out a small huff of exertion as she allowed her lower body to drop back down onto the bed with a muffled thump, then slowly slid her hands along her lower abdomen, past her navel, and then over her skirt, her fingertips lightly ghosting over her warm, mildly aching privates…

 _Slam!_

The violet-eyed girl's bedroom door suddenly flew open of its(seemingly) own accord, banging against the dresser that sat next to it, and making Tootie sit bolt-upright in surprise, her hands self-consciously darting between her legs to cover her exposed sex with her skirt. "Morning, Tootie~!" A tall figure, lean but curvy; wearing little more than a lime-green tank-top and black sleeping shorts, and sporting a head of long, disheveled red hair, exclaimed as she stepped into the bedroom with a wide smile, her eyes squeezed shut as she briefly stretched her arms up over her head, then yawned, allowing her left arm to limply drop back down to her side as she covered her mouth with her right hand.

"V-Vicki?! Wh-What the hell?!" The younger of the two Valentine sisters yelled, her face blushing a bright cherry-red as she glared daggers at the twenty-one year old. "I know the c-concept of privacy is lost on you, but-Ugh… What d-do you want?" She roughly yanked out her earbuds, then settled her hands on her knees, hoping her sister wouldn't connect the dots concerning what she'd been _about_ to do.

"Ooh~… Temper, temper..." The redhead smiled evilly, her tone sly and more than a little unsettling to Tootie's ears. "Am I interrupting..." Vicki scanned her little sister's room, her gaze briefly locking on to the noticeable red tinge on the girl's face, then shifting to her partially unbuttoned shirt, the cross-legged position she'd adopted that left her slightly hunched over, before finally jumping to the pair of discarded panties that lay haphazardly on the floor at the foot of her bed. "...Something?"

"What. Do. You. Want?" The raven-haired girl repeated her question, punctuating each word for emphasis, which freely advertised her growing annoyance and frustration.

"Ha! What's the matter? I can't randomly check in on my _darling_ little sister?" Vicki tried and failed to stifle a laugh; she simply couldn't take Tootie's attempts at intimidation seriously. Most times, her tough act just made her come off as unintentionally adorable.

"Not when your idea of 'checking in' involves assaulting my door and barging in on me when I want some _privacy_!" The fifteen year old could feel her cheeks practically burning now, but she barely cared. Yes, she was a hormonal, sex-starved teenager with an unrequited, seven-year crush on a boy who'd _faked her out_ not five minutes earlier; she wanted to get off, and Vicki's continued intrusion on her 'alone time' was driving her right up a wall!

Ignoring her sister's less-than-subtle insinuation that she wanted her to leave, the redhead took a few more steps into the girl's room and did a slow, three-hundred-sixty degree spin, her pink eyes scanning every nook and cranny before she completed her rotation and they fell back on Tootie. "Just you up here?"

"Who _else_ would be-" The fifteen year old began angrily, but quickly caught herself, evasively breaking eye contact with her older sister as her lips formed a disappointed pout. "...Yeah, just me… Timmy walked me home, and he spent a couple hours here, but he left a little while ago, had to feed his fish and get someone something for Valentine's Day…"

" _Someone_." Vicki monotonously parroted the word right back at her sister.

"You-Know-Who." Tootie replied agitatedly, meeting the older girl's gaze once again.

"Hah…" She sighed, roughly scratching the back of her head, which only served to make her already messy hair look even further unkempt. "Twerp's consistent, if nothing else."

"Guess we've got that in common..." The raven-haired girl grumbled out, the annoyance she felt at being interrupted beginning to subside.

"Well, that and being hopelessly in love with someone who barely acknowledges your feelings for them." The twenty-one year old shrugged, taking a few more steps toward the bed until she was in front of it, before plopping down just to Tootie's left.

"That too." Tootie agreed quietly, scooting over a bit to give her sister a bit more room on the bed. "If he'd just-Agh… She _clearly_ doesn't care about him, and yet he still-! I'm so tired of being in-! ...In second place..." She trailed off, her shoulders slumped dejectedly.

For several seconds, Vicki remained silent, causing her younger sister to wonder if she'd even listened to her at all. "Ah..." The redhead at last let out a long, dramatic exhale as she leaned back and held herself up with her left arm, while reaching back with her right to affectionately tousle Tootie's hair. "I hear ya, Toots… Trust me, if I thought it'd work, I'd knock some sense into the Twerp's empty head for you in a heartbeat, but… You and I both know he's got a good heart deep down. Hell, I can only assume that it's got a lot to do with _why_ you like him in the first place." She pulled her hand away, settling it in a position mirroring that of her left. "It's just that he can also be a bit of an ass at times."

"Heehee… Well, nobody's perfect..." A low, subdued giggle escaped the bespectacled teen. _"_ _But he's perfect to me."_ She mused to herself as she ran an index finger back and forth along the edge of her skirt.

Vicki silently rolled her eyes. She'd meant the comment about Tootie being hopelessly in love with Timmy as a joke, but her little sister's body language(along with a good seven years of Tootie displaying what was essentially single target sexuality) made it painfully obvious that her infatuation with the brunet had become more than a simple crush. She was clearly head over heels for the boy Vicki still sometimes referred to as 'the Twerp', and there obviously wasn't much, if anything, that would change her mind. "Maybe the issue… Is that you're being too passive-and that does _not_ mean kidnap the Twerp and tie him to your bed." The older girl finished sternly, her eyes narrowed at Tootie seriously.

"I-I wasn't thinking that!" The raven-haired girl lied, her cheeks adopting a familiar pink tint that remained quite visible, even in the relative darkness of her bedroom. "B-But, um… Do you think so? About… The passive thing, I mean?"

"Tootie, take me as a prime example. Yeah, I'm single, but I've got a cushy job house-sitting for _your_ best friend's parents, I live with _our_ parents, have my own car, and I'm loaded enough that I could've retired _three years ago_. I'm set for life, and I didn't get here by sitting around, waiting for opportunity to just fall into my lap, y'know?"

"Well… I mean, yeah, but..." The younger Valentine absently rubbed the back of her head as she sheepishly looked away. "But that takes confidence. Like, _serious_ confidence, and whenever I try to be confident, it always backfires, and I end up making Timmy uncomfortable..."

" _No_ , you're aggressive. There _is_ a difference, Tootie. There's being confident and self-assured, and then there's acting like a cat in heat around your crush." Vicki clarified, waiting until Tootie met her gaze again before continuing. "Around Timmy, you need to make yourself appear desirable, but you can't force the attraction. You can manufacture scenarios where you appear cute, or hell, even sexy, if you think you can pull it off-"

" _No difficulties there."_ The girl thought to herself in amusement. She knew _exactly_ how to catch Timmy's eye, and had caught him in the act of checking her out on more than a few occasions; there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she could 'do' sexy.

"But at the same time, you've got what sounds like an uphill battle with this 'Trixie'. Twerp's already got a thing for her, _sounds_ like he's already planning on getting her something for Valentine's Day, according to what you told me."

"Right..." Tootie nodded in agreement with her sister, the corners of her mouth drooping into a slight, dull frown. "So…?"

" _So_ , _**that's**_ where you need to focus your aggression! She's your competition, and if you can't find the ideal circumstances necessary to _beat_ your competition, your best bet is to remove them from the equation, you follow?" Vicki smirked as she finished, her right eyebrow quirked up at Tootie.

"Vicki, I can't go around 'removing' people like you did Ricky, that's a bit extreme, even if it _is_ Trixie." The raven-haired teen growled her rival's name out venomously. "Although..." A light bulb clicked on in the girl's head as she thought of a new, less permanent way of dealing with the popular girl.

"Afraid I've got no idea what you're talking about. Ricky met with an unfortunate incident, from what I heard; that's all I know." The redhead replied, shrugging indifferently. "Besides, I'm not advocating that you harm anyone in any way. How you deal with What's-Her-Name is entirely up to you. I know you've got a good head on your shoulders, Toots." With that, Vicki sprang up from the bed and to her feet, making a beeline for the door. "Oh!" She exclaimed, spinning around on her heel to face Tootie once more. "And I suggest you stake your claim on that cutie as soon as possible, else _I_ might be tempted to snatch him up first!"

"Teehee!" The fifteen year old shook subtly as a fit of giggles came over her and she watched her older sister make for the door again. "Yeah, yeah… Go ahead and make your jokes..."

As she heard this and was midway through pulling the bedroom door closed, Vicki peeked back in, her expression dead-serious and eyes half-lidded. "Who's joking?" The question hung in the air for nearly a full minute, Tootie's previously amused smile gradually fading into a look of nervous disbelief. "Dinner'll be ready in twenty." With that, the redhead quietly shut the door, her footsteps in the hall slowly fading out of earshot.

"...V-Vicki?! Th-That's not funny!" Tootie yelled in a high-pitched tone, her voice reverberating off the walls of her bedroom. "Rrgh… You suck!"

* * *

A/N2: Changing the rating to M on account of Tootie's attempted trip to Palmdale.


End file.
